Replies to This Discussion

Hey everyone!
My name is Aaron Lefevre, I work for a company called Faculte that allows users to create presentations (we call them "Broadcasts) utilizing audio, video, documents, powerpoints, and other types of media, all on the internet! When I started working here I felt that education would be the best use case for our broadcast studio and I found this website full of wonderful people who are looking for new technologies to incorporate into their education arsenal.

I'm not a sales guy, just scanning these forums to see how educators feel about the trends of technology in the classroom. aaron@faculte.com if you want to know more!

I am Dharmendra Chaturvedi in Defence Services of India. My area of work is Technology but imparting education to subordinates and improvisation of same has been my area of interest. In continuation to improve the system further and to make subordinates cope with the world wide changing scenario in terms of modernisation of education, I look forward honing up my managerial skills as well as improving education system of organisation. Through this forum on occasions i would mind sharing my thoughts on the existing education system of my country and the typical methods adopted to improve it.

Hi,
I have been a professional educator for over 25 years. I received an undergraduate degree in elementary education in 1983, and a master’s in distance education in 2001.

My passion for the past 7 years has been ‘the future of education’. I believe we are in for more surprises than even the experts predict, but regardless of the perspective the future looks exciting.

I currently use an online interactive whiteboard system for tutoring students on a one to one basis as an after school support program. I also develop streaming videos for middle school mathematics that integrates learning how to learn strategies and the brain mind learning principles into the content.

I am looking forward to connecting with others in this forum. Thank you for providing the opportunity.

Hello,
My name is Robin Ruiz. I am an educator, and I teach at a Middle School as a Multi Subject support teacher. I graduated in December with a Masters in Educational Leadership from the University of South Florida. I am change. Today the paper announced a group of students would be receiviing IPODS for education in their classrooms. We are using airliners, and lightspeed Audio in every classroom as well as the Smart Boards. I want to be able to have monitors the size of a wall that you can touch and change, I want every child to be able to play farmville and learn about time lines, and friends that can help, and... Seriously, I am very interested in the Future of Education.

I have been in the field of education for 30+ years, if you add my years as an educational assistant and substitute teacher. This period of time is by far the most dynamic and exciting time out of all 30 years. There was a time, about 15 years ago, when curriculum alignment in our district helped to make sense of what otherwise felt like a random collection of fun craft projects in the elementary school that I worked in. There was even a competition to see who had the most creative bulletin boards. The principal noted it as such on our evalutations. With the curriculum alignment work, we discovered how many teachers across multiple grade levels taught a unit on the metomorphisis of a butterfly - just because it was so cool! That unit, along with others, proved that there was an overwhelming amount of duplication. Add to that the units aligned with seasons of the year because there were such great art projects that went along with them and you get a sense of why kids perhaps were not performing so well in math!

Now, education is facing a new world. A world that speaks of a new sense of urgency needed so our kids stay competitive. Now, we see that complacency may very well lead to deep and lasting loss for the future of our country. "This too shall pass" is no longer a montra that you hear. Instead, social networking sites such as this one are increasing the proof that change is occurring whether we are ready or not! And I am excited to be a part of it even though this next November I will turn 60!

I follow Steve Hargadon on Classroom 2.0 and came across this network. I am Instructional Technology Specialist in Brooklyn, NY. What this means is that I help faculty integrate technology into their curriculum. I provide one-on-one support and provide workshops/training. I am always looking into different and fun ways to integrate technology. I am in Higher Ed. However, some of the ideas can be utilize in Higher Ed and help our School of Education students integrate technology.

I’m Dr. Terryl Ross, the Director of Community and Diversity at Oregon State University. My alma maters are University of Washington, Syracuse University, and Eastern Washington University.

My background is in Educational Communications and Technology (edtech). My research centers on using new media in education. I’m particularly interested in social justice, film making, and sustainability.

I’m currently beta testing a Ning learning community for social justice and diversity. We will be going public in March.

I like this site and am excited to be meeting other educators. Let the journey begin. . .
-Terryl

My name is Ryon C. Patterson and I currently work in the entertainment industry. I am a partner at KAKI Entertainment, but more information about that can be found on my profile.

I am a firm believer that the educational system is in need of an overhaul and actually, this is something I have been preaching since I was in the 5th grade :-)

I wrote my first computer program at age 12 and it just so happened to be a video game, of course. Although I attended a very special school, none of my teachers were able to grasp exactly what had taken place. They were just elated to have had enough insight to let me spend the whole summer figuring out how to operate about 12 computers that were donated to the school. Later, they became happy that I decided to create games that were educationally challenging to myself and other students as well. It was very fun for me, but obviously much too early. I am 36 now and still at it!

My name is Anne Archer. I'm in the Education department at Microsoft. New to Ning, but liking it so far. I plan on using Ning to provide solutions and resources educators, answer/ask questions, and just gain a better insight into what educators are looking for.